Hello there!
First, I want to apologize for taking so long to post. It has been a crazy week! Anyways, I finally finished Gone Girl. Actually, I finished last Thursday, but I wanted to wait to post this review until after I saw the movie so I could compare the two.
Gone Girl is a thriller written by novelist Gillian Flynn. It tells the story of Nick and Amy Dunne, and their once perfect, now struggling marriage, and the events that lead up to the disappearance of Amy Dunne. The first portion of the story is told in first person, by both Nick and Amy, Nick telling his story in the present, and Amy telling hers in diary entries from the past.
I can tell how much I am going to enjoy a book after finishing the first page. After reading the first sentence, I was immediately drawn in. I had an extremely busy week with mid terms and papers due, and I still found plenty of time to read the book. The back and forth between the past and present creates a very eerie feel for the book, as you watch the marriage between Amy and Nick unravel with each word you read. The story feels so real. The way the author writes makes you feel like you are in the room with the characters. Like you are watching the police question Nick in the interrogation room, like you're walking next to Amy down the busy streets of New York.
I'm not a fan of stories that give detailed character descriptions, as I have an active imagination while I read. Being able to picture the characters myself creates a more personal relationship between me and the book. Gillian Flynn achieves the perfect balance of description and imagination. I could hear Amy's voice, see Nick's smile. Every technique Flynn used to make this a top notch novel worked perfectly. I found myself so anxious and paranoid as I read the book. I would be reading, and as the suspense would build, I could feel my pulse increase. Chilling, haunting, but beautiful.
Now, I've raved about the positives, but there are negatives to the novel. I am a sucker for a happy ending. It is a crucial aspect in how I judge how good or bad a book is. This story did not have a happy, or satisfying, ending. Which is understandable, the novel is brilliant and I believe it would not have the same effect if Flynn would have ended the book a different way, but I was frustrated when I finished the last page. At the time I did not know it was the last page, since the acknowledgments followed right after. Once I read it, turned the page, and found out that was indeed the end, I was frustrated. For those of you who have read the Divergent series, and know the aggravation of that ending, I felt the same. There isn't much more I can say without giving away the book. Don't take this as my indirect way of telling you not to read the book. The story is beautiful. Brilliant character development, surprises around every corner, a twisted love story is the best way to put it. The ending of the novel gives you a feeling of discomfort, but somehow you accept it.
I finished the book on Thursday, and begged my boyfriend to come see the movie with me that Saturday. I enjoy reading the book before seeing the movie because it gives me an advantage over the rest of the audience. I know what's going to happen, and while I can still be just as shocked, sad, happy, etc. about events that occur throughout the plot, I'm always one step ahead. The movie followed the book in all the right ways. The director, David Fincher, took out and added in the right aspects to make for an interesting movie. I do not like a movie that religiously follows a book, because it gives the reading audience nothing to be surprised about. There were details that were slightly tweaked, but not enough to cause an uproar in the reading community.
The casting was something I had a concern with. I think Rosumand Pike played Amy perfectly. There were other characters that I didn't quite picture the way they were casted. Desi Collings was played by Neil Patrick Harris, who is often depicted as a humorous character. I had a hard time separating Desi from Neil Patrick Harris' renowned role as Barney Stinson in the hit television series How I Met Your Mother. Maybe this makes me a unexperienced/untalented critic of the film, but that's how I felt.
What I can say, with the highest praise, is bravo to both Gillian Flynn and David Fincher. They both did their part in creating an ingenious story. I strongly recommend the book, but I also recommend you read it before seeing the movie.
Until next time,
First, I want to apologize for taking so long to post. It has been a crazy week! Anyways, I finally finished Gone Girl. Actually, I finished last Thursday, but I wanted to wait to post this review until after I saw the movie so I could compare the two.
Gone Girl is a thriller written by novelist Gillian Flynn. It tells the story of Nick and Amy Dunne, and their once perfect, now struggling marriage, and the events that lead up to the disappearance of Amy Dunne. The first portion of the story is told in first person, by both Nick and Amy, Nick telling his story in the present, and Amy telling hers in diary entries from the past.
I can tell how much I am going to enjoy a book after finishing the first page. After reading the first sentence, I was immediately drawn in. I had an extremely busy week with mid terms and papers due, and I still found plenty of time to read the book. The back and forth between the past and present creates a very eerie feel for the book, as you watch the marriage between Amy and Nick unravel with each word you read. The story feels so real. The way the author writes makes you feel like you are in the room with the characters. Like you are watching the police question Nick in the interrogation room, like you're walking next to Amy down the busy streets of New York.
I'm not a fan of stories that give detailed character descriptions, as I have an active imagination while I read. Being able to picture the characters myself creates a more personal relationship between me and the book. Gillian Flynn achieves the perfect balance of description and imagination. I could hear Amy's voice, see Nick's smile. Every technique Flynn used to make this a top notch novel worked perfectly. I found myself so anxious and paranoid as I read the book. I would be reading, and as the suspense would build, I could feel my pulse increase. Chilling, haunting, but beautiful.
Now, I've raved about the positives, but there are negatives to the novel. I am a sucker for a happy ending. It is a crucial aspect in how I judge how good or bad a book is. This story did not have a happy, or satisfying, ending. Which is understandable, the novel is brilliant and I believe it would not have the same effect if Flynn would have ended the book a different way, but I was frustrated when I finished the last page. At the time I did not know it was the last page, since the acknowledgments followed right after. Once I read it, turned the page, and found out that was indeed the end, I was frustrated. For those of you who have read the Divergent series, and know the aggravation of that ending, I felt the same. There isn't much more I can say without giving away the book. Don't take this as my indirect way of telling you not to read the book. The story is beautiful. Brilliant character development, surprises around every corner, a twisted love story is the best way to put it. The ending of the novel gives you a feeling of discomfort, but somehow you accept it.
I finished the book on Thursday, and begged my boyfriend to come see the movie with me that Saturday. I enjoy reading the book before seeing the movie because it gives me an advantage over the rest of the audience. I know what's going to happen, and while I can still be just as shocked, sad, happy, etc. about events that occur throughout the plot, I'm always one step ahead. The movie followed the book in all the right ways. The director, David Fincher, took out and added in the right aspects to make for an interesting movie. I do not like a movie that religiously follows a book, because it gives the reading audience nothing to be surprised about. There were details that were slightly tweaked, but not enough to cause an uproar in the reading community.
The casting was something I had a concern with. I think Rosumand Pike played Amy perfectly. There were other characters that I didn't quite picture the way they were casted. Desi Collings was played by Neil Patrick Harris, who is often depicted as a humorous character. I had a hard time separating Desi from Neil Patrick Harris' renowned role as Barney Stinson in the hit television series How I Met Your Mother. Maybe this makes me a unexperienced/untalented critic of the film, but that's how I felt.
What I can say, with the highest praise, is bravo to both Gillian Flynn and David Fincher. They both did their part in creating an ingenious story. I strongly recommend the book, but I also recommend you read it before seeing the movie.
Until next time,
